Would you call me that? The Butterfly Lady...
or perhaps you would refer to me as a Caterpillar Cat...
it matters not, either title I love.
I have lot's of happy news to report,
so let's get down to the nitty-gritty of what's going on with the butterflies.
This story began when I brought 8 Swallowtail Caterpillars inside that I found on my dill.
Things went well and on August 24th,
I released 3 with the neighbor children, that story is here.
I released 3 with the neighbor children, that story is here.
Later that day, a 4th emerged, the hubs and I released #4 alone and it flew away immediately.
The last of the eight caterpillar's to pupate, we named Mikey.
The last of the eight caterpillar's to pupate, we named Mikey.
He did not pupate correctly into chrysalis and that butterfly died.
Back to the release on the 24th,
I found this Monarch Caterpillar on my milkweed
and I decided to bring it indoors.
and I decided to bring it indoors.
My butterfly house is big enough and I have never "raised" a Monarch.
That Monarch pupated into chrysalis pretty quickly, on August 29th,
and should emerge 10 - 14 days after that.
The Monarch's chrysalis is clearly different from the Swallowtail.
Pictured above, it is a shiny green, with gold specks, attached to the top of the butterfly house.
I was watering the garden on Thursday, the 31st,
and found these two Swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley.
There is no more dill, they ate all of it...
I just could not resist so I brought them indoors.
So...in summery,
I have 3 Black Swallowtails in chrysalis form in the picture above.
I have 2 Black Swallowtails that are in the caterpillar stage,
and 1 Monarch in chrysalis.
- that's all folks -
but it was a lot - right?
- that's all folks -
but it was a lot - right?
29 comments:
Terrific stuff.
But they should be free! :)
Love the stripey caterpillar. How beautiful nature is.
Sorry to hear about Mikey
they will all be set free, when they emerge from chrysalis. in nature, only 2% of all larva/caterpillars survive to become butterflies. raising them indoors is actually recommended!!!
me too but it does happen. so far, i have had a wonderful success rate!!!
It is a lot, Debbie. The life cycle of amazing creatures in one brief, beautiful post.
Hello, you did have a great success rate raising the butterflies. Kudos to you! Amazing photos! Happy Sunday, enjoy your day and new week ahead!
I would call you the Lover of Nature.
Only 2%!!! Wow... well, then, you are the butterfly rescuer!
:-)
I think you had good odds, compared to outdoors. So many predators!
-Chuckle- You are the "Save Nature Lady"!!! "Make Sure Nature Has a Fighting Chance" lady!!! "Having Fun While Doing It" Lady!!!
Mmmmmm, anyone else have more titles, to add????? :-))))))))
You are a lover of creatures great and small, and I admire you greatly, sweet Debbie. :)
xoxo
It's a miracle to see how a butterfly is born!
That's too cool! Glad you are having fun with this! If I was a lady I'd much rather be called Butterfly Lady than something like "crazy cat lady". ;-)
Ohhhh! The excitement continues.I love it.
I am so glad its all working out to be a nice summer project. So fun Debbie.
Nice to see that you are giving them a secure place to transform!
It looks great, miracle of life creatures
Oh--Debbie, this is so wonderful! My Mother loved Monarch butterfly's and made Dad take up to Pelee Point in Canada to see them gathered before their trip to Mexico. The trees were so full you would hardly see the leaves.
I can't get enough of butterflies and their amazing transformation. The Monarch has a beautifully gilded chrysalis. That was the first chrysalis I saw in my flower garden--actually attached to the shed siding--and I've been smitten by them all since.
OK, you're now the Butterfly Lady.
hi patti, how cool to see a chrysalis outdoors, surviving in the wild!!
Now you need a special shirt that says, Butterfly Lady on it. - This is just super cool!
You are truly amazing, Debbie, and I am so enjoying your butterflies.
Thank you SO very much for sharing them here.
xo.
So sad that the one butterfly didn't make it but how neat to watch more come to be butterflies, you're getting your money out of that butterfly house, you are going to have to plant more with all these butterflies heading to your house :)
I'll think of you as the Butterfly Lady! It must be very fascinating to watch them through the process. I had no idea only 2% of caterpillars survive! Thank you for saving butterflies!
The Butterfly Lady is nice ...
You've shared some amazing photographs with us Debbie and I've enjoyed seeing and almost being part of the butterfly story, well I feel as if I have with your brilliant collection of photographs ... very special indeed, thank you.
All the best Jan
Thank you SO very much for sharing them here.
pirates of the caribbean 5
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